Peter Handke

David Coury (University of Wisconsin, Green Bay); Revised By: Ana Foteva (Saint Lawrence University)
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Since the publication of his first novel and his dramatic entry onto the literary stage in 1966, the Austrian-born writer Peter Handke has been one of the most prolific, respected and controversial figures in German language literature in the later half of the twentieth century. A novelist, playwright, poet, essayist and filmmaker, Handke has enjoyed critical success in a variety of genres and has remained in the vanguard of European literature since his first publications. Once a perennial candidate for the Nobel Prize, his more recent political writings, particularly a series of essays in the late 1990s on the former Yugoslavia, have turned many critics against him and have again placed him at the center of controversy. Nevertheless, even his most ardent critics respect and appreciateā€¦

4119 words

Citation: Coury, David, Ana Foteva. "Peter Handke". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 September 2006; last revised 16 March 2020. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=11731, accessed 31 October 2024.]

11731 Peter Handke 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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